THINKER'S ALMANAC - April 6

In the most famous painting in the history of philosophy, what two philosophers are featured most prominently?

Subject: Philosophers - The School of Athens

Event:  The artist Raphael is born,  1483 

On this day in 1483, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino -- better known as the High Renaissance artist Raphael -- was born in Italy. When he was only in his mid-20s, Raphael was invited by Pope Julius II to live and work in Rome.  In 1509, he began work on elaborate frescos for the rooms of the Papal Palace.  Although he painted three frescoes representing theology, law, and poetry in the palace, his best known work was one that celebrates philosophy, entitled the School of Athens.

Measuring 17 feet high and 25 feet long, the School of Athens depicts a who's who of ancient Greek philosophers.  Prominently featured in the center of the fresco are Plato and Aristotle.  Plato carries a copy of his book Timaeus in his left hand and points to the sky with his right hand, an appropriate gesture for a man who created the Theory of Forms and emphasized the realm of abstract 

ideas and concepts.  On Plato’s left is his most accomplished student Aristotle.  He carries a copy of his Nicomachean Ethics in his left hand and holds his right arm out with his palm facing down, a representation of his emphasis on empirical, concrete evidence, grounded in the physical world.

Although we don’t know for certain the identity of all the people depicted in the fresco, there is a general consensus among experts that at least seven other prominent figures are depicted:  Socrates, Pythagoras, Euclid, Ptolemy, Zoroaster, Heraclitus, Diogenes of Sinope.

Like Alfred Hitchcock did in his movies, Raphael himself makes a cameo.  His self-portrait can be seen in the lower far right of the fresco, a young man looking directly at the viewer (1).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  Which two philosophers are featured most prominently in Raphael’s School of Athens?

Today’s Challenge - Fielder’s Choice Philosophy:  The English comedy troupe Monty Python famously produced a sketch featuring philosopher football (soccer) with German philosophers pitted against a toga-clad team of Greek philosophers.  Using the nine prominent Greek philosophers from the School of Athens (Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras, Euclid, Ptolemy, Zoroaster, Heraclitus, Diogenes of Sinope), assume the role of baseball manager, and fill out your lineup for each of the nine positions:  first base, second base, third base, shortstop, catcher, pitcher, right field, center field, and left field.

Sources: 

1-Stewart, Jessica.  “The Story Behind Raphael's Masterpiece ‘The School of Athens’” mymodernmet.com 6 Sept. 2018.